Friday, July 6, 2012

Simplicity 2226 - breaking my rules

Do you have rules about garments that do or don't suit you? You know, like "I can't wear x style of trousers"? I am intrigued about where these self-governing rules come from. Are they based on logical assessments of our body shapes, the likes and dislikes of our mothers, friends etc, or maybe because a particular style is the domain of someone we know and so we should/shouldn't go there? Is it just a matter of what's in fashion at the time? Maybe its a mix of all of these things.

I think some of my rules make absolute sense, but others I feel I should challenge because there's no really logical reason for them - and gathered skirts ("No gathered skirts - too founcy, too girly, will make me look bottom heavy etc") was one of them. So I thought I'd challenge it with the popular Simplicity 2226.

I've loved so many versions of this (this one, this one and this one to name just a few!) that I just had to give it a go. And so when i found the pattern on sale a while ago (or did it 'find' me?? ;-) I thought I'd give it a go.

As everyone says, it was a pretty easy sew. And so it should be given that it's in the 'Learn to sew' category. Everything's pretty easy to follow. I did have a look at Anna's sew-along for some pointers, and that was useful. Like Anna I left off the hook & eye (those things drive me mad).

I used a mid blue linen that I'd bought on sale at The Fabric Warehouse. It's lovely to wear, though doesn't add much warmth in this weather. I was worried about using a heavy fabric though as I thought the gathers wouldn't sit very well.

And, also like everyone else, my favourite feature of the pattern is the great pockets.

Time will tell as to whether I've struck "Mustn't wear gathered skirts" off my rules list, but at the moment I'm quite liking this... I think ;-)

I'm belatedly playing along with Our Creative Spaces again this week, find others here.

I love this skirt! And I think it's time for you to toss that rule. For one thing, the yoke on this skirt means there's no bulk at the actual waist, which is really flattering. Second, there is nothing like a gathered skirt on a warm day when you don't want anything too hot or sticky. And in blue linen, it will be the perfect summer garb!